Humanity

Grandpappy loved humanity. In fact, I’ll even say that it’s plain to me that hanging out with folks was what Grandpappy loved to do most. Just kicking back, sharing a few stories, listening to others share their life experiences, laughing at a few jokes. I’ll bet sitting around and shooting the breeze with Grandpappy was the coolest thing ever.

As I’ve suggested elsewhere, I tend to think that most of the things Grandpappy did were about Him enjoying being human, doing things that humans can do. This idea is perfectly consistent with the suggestion that, of all people who ever lived, nobody was better at being human that Grandpappy was. And that means He can serve as a perfect model for what "being human" is really supposed to mean.

Grandpappy clearly had great sympathy for the human condition, but I doubt he’d think much about speculations regarding "human nature". He seemed to think that people could be as good or evil as they wanted to be regardless of their station at birth. In fact, an important aspect of His message was that everything old and decayed could be new again if only folks would choose to make it so.

None of this was to say that Grandpappy didn’t appreciate the reality of tyranny and oppression. He was condemned to death by a tyrannical power, after all. He often shamed the usurpers of power who did nothing to help the sick and the poor. But in all of this He never denied the power that dwells in the heart of every person, no matter how young or old, rich or poor.

One day Grandpappy was traveling with his buddies and a whole crowd of people started to surround them. Pretty soon, He was shoulder-to-shoulder, elbow-to-elbow with a throng of His admirers. Everybody wanted to shake hands with Grandpappy, say a few words to Grandpappy, receive a blessing from Grandpappy. I mean, He was one popular guy, no question about it. But then suddenly Grandpappy says, out of nowhere, "Who touched me?" Now, I think we’ve already established that Grandpappy was a pretty smart guy, so obviously He was talking about something other than merely being touched. But his buddies thought He was finally losing it. So they pointed out to Him that, you know, dude, there’s like, hundreds of people all over the place. So Grandpappy had to clarify, "Somebody touched me, for I perceived power going out from me." Which just may be the most awesome thing He ever said, right? Well, it turns out, of course, that some woman had touched the hem of His garment and she was healed of a condition she’d had. Her faith had healed her, Grandpappy said. I reckon there were quite a few other people in that crowd in need of physical healing, but it really only happened for this faithful woman. Why? Obviously, if you’re poor and sick there are rich and healthy people who should feel a moral obligation to you, but that does not absolve you from the obligations you have to yourself. No matter what has victimized you, you are still the only one responsible for whether or not you have faith, courage, and hope. And sometimes, those are the only things you really need. (Especially if Grandpappy happens to be walking by.)

Now notice that I said earlier that nobody was better at being human than Grandpappy. I didn’t say nobody else has done it just as well. I think it would be a mistake to think that anything Grandpappy accomplished when He was here is beyond the reach of anyone else. For one thing, it ignores the accomplishments of all kinds of great sages throughout human history from other cultures based upon other religious legacies. But for another, it’s an affront to human potential, the boundaries of which even Grandpappy never discovered. Grandpappy said that those coming after Him would do greater things even than He did. And if Grandpappy said it, then it must be so.

I think that, ultimately, what Grandpappy wanted most to get out of His visit to Earth was just to spend time with us. Just to be where we are. But, of course, if He loves each one of us that much, it just stands to reason that He’ll also want us to be kind to one another and to ourselves. And this strikes me as the ultimate purpose of each of our lives, to realize the full potential of our own power by helping and being helped by others. The collaborations that form in that process will continue with sublime grace and beauty the creation that Grandpappy started all those years ago. And thus we, as a species, can become full partners with the Divine.